Keep your eyes on the road – how one Tesla owner spotted a potential safety risk

The company’s Passenger Play feature allows games to be played on a touchscreen while the car is in motion, writes Chris Stevenson

Vince Patton, a new Tesla owner, demonstrates how he can play video games on the vehicle’s console while driving (AP)

I’ve always been fascinated by the amount of technology that goes into vehicles. As such, a story about one of Tesla’s latest changes caught my attention.

The company’s Passenger Play feature, which was never intended for the driver, allows games to be played on a touchscreen while the car is in motion. Passenger Play was, at first, only usable when the car was stationary, but this was changed in December 2020. Users still had to confirm they were the passenger to use it.

The change was noticed by a Tesla owner, Vince Patton, who filed a complaint with the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTS). The NHTS opened an investigation, which noted the Passenger Play feature “may distract the driver and increase the risk of a crash”.